Taqqut Productions Inc. is an Inuit-owned film production company located in Iqaluit, Nunavut. Taqqut is committed to bringing the stories of the North to the world, and aims to establish itself as an innovative leader of youth and children’s programming. The company’s short films have screened at festivals in eighteen countries and have won over twenty international awards. This past year, Taqqut Productions completed production on the television series, Anaana’s Tent, which began airing on APTN in Inuktitut and English in May 2018, and season 2 of the series will begin airing this fall. In addition to the compelling television properties underway, Taqqut is also in development of two animated features, The Hidden World (2D animation) and Beyond the Inuksuk (stop-motion). Taqqut has production experience with live action, stop motion animation, 2D animation, and puppets. Working with the Inhabit Media educational team (an award-winning Inuit publishing company), Taqqut has a wealth of stories of Northern folklore to share with the world. TAQQUT PRODUCTIONS - CONTRIBUTION TO CANADIAN MEDIA The owners and company staff are committed to high-quality children’s programming in television and film. Young viewers are in a vulnerable developmental stage, and the quality of the programming they watch has a significant and measurable impact on their development. In Nunavut, we are seeing that southern programming is contributing to loss of language (Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun) and loss of interest and pride in Inuit culture. At Taqqut Productions, we are dedicated to creating entertaining shows that provide educational value to young viewers, particularly in Nunavut. We are create films and television that entertains children while helping to improve literacy and numeracy, provide social emotional learning, showcase positive role models, and highlight the value of Inuit cultural activities, stories and northern life. Benefits of Taqqut Productions’ Children’s Television and Film All of our educational experience and research has contributed to the development of high- quality productions for children. Our programs provide many benefits to Inuit and other Indigenous children such as: • Establishing a strong foundation for Indigenous language learning • Exposure to rich language • Communicating Inuit/Indigenous societal values that have kept communities healthy for generations • Instilling pride in culture and lived experiences • Showcasing recognizable characters and role models that help foster pride in one’s self and community (including cultural pride) • Highlighting familiar places and activities, allowing children to recognize themselves and their surroundings in the programming they watch • Fostering acceptance of diversity TAQQUT PRODUCTIONS - FILM AWARDS LIST 2017 Honorable Mention in Animation, for The Owl and the Lemming, Short. Sweet. Film Fest (Cleveland, OH) 2017 Nominated in the Best Animated Film category, for The Owl and the Lemming, West Chester International Short Film Festival (West Chester, PA) 2017 Nominated as a finalist in the Children’s and Youth Category, for The Owl and the Lemming, Yorkton Film Festival (Yorkton, SK) 2017 Nominated as a finalist in the Animation Category, for Little Folk of the Arctic, Yorkton Film Festival (Yorkton, SK) 2017 Nominated as a finalist in the Animation Category, for Ogress of the Gravelbank, Yorkton Film Festival (Yorkton, SK) 2017 Nominated for “Animated Short” at American Indian Film Festival, for Ukaliq and Kalla Go Fishing, American Indian Film Festival (San Francisco, CA) 2017 Nominated for ‘Best Animated Short’, for The Owl and the Lemming, Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum - Native Cinema Showcase (New Mexico) 2017 Best Animated Short, for Ukaliq and Kalla Go Fishing, Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum - Native Cinema Showcase (New Mexico) 2017 Nominated under the “Best Animation” Category, for Ukaliq and Kalla Go Fishing, LA Skins Film Fest (Los Angeles, CA) 2016 Nominated for ‘Achievement in Animation Filmmaking’, for The Owl and the Lemming, Los Angeles Skins Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA) 2016 Nominated for ‘Achievement in Animation Filmmaking’, for Little Folk of the Arctic, Los Angeles Skins Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA) 2016 Nominated for ‘Achievement in Animation Filmmaking’, for Ogress of the Gravelbank, Los Angeles Skins Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA) 2016 Best Animation, for The Owl and the Lemming, American Indian Film Festival (San Francisco, CA) 2016 Best Animation, for Little Folk of the Arctic, American Indian Film Festival (San Francisco, CA) 2016 Best Short Animation, for Little Folk of the Arctic, Seoul Guro International Kids Film Festival (Seoul, South Korea) 2016 Finalist, for The Orphan and the Polar Bear, CreActive International Open Film Festival (IOFF) (Dhaka, Bangladesh) 2016 Finalist, for The Country of Wolves, CreActive International Open Film Festival (IOFF) (Dhaka, Bangladesh) 2016 Special Mention Award for “Animation Film”, for The Amautalik, CreActive International Open Film Festival (IOFF) (Dhaka, Bangladesh) 2016 Honourable Mention, Animated Film, for The Country of Wolves, Short. Sweet. Film Fest (Cleveland, OH) 2015 Screened as part of Best of Montreal International Animated Film Festival, Directors, for The Orphan and the Polar Bear, New Films Festival (Espinho, Portugal) 2015 Screened as part of Best of Montreal International Animated Film Festival, New Directors, for The Orphan and the Polar Bear, New Films Festival (Espinho, Portugal) 2015 Best Children’s and Youth Production, for The Amautalik, Yorkton Film Festival (Yorkton, SK) 2015 Best Director (for Fiction), for The Orphan and the Polar Bear, Yorkton Film Festival (Yorkton, SK) 2015 Audience Award, Animation, for The Orphan and the Polar Bear, Praxis Film Festival (Raleigh, NC) 2014 Best Animation, for Amaqqut Nunaat: The Country of Wolves, Tyrolean Independent Film Festival (Innsbruck, Australia) 2014 Best Animated Short, for Amaqqut Nunaat: The Country of Wolves, Los Angeles Fear and Fantasy Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA) 2014 Best Animated Film, for The Orphan and the Polar Bear, 10th West Chester Film Festival (West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA) 2014 Audience Favorite, Animated Short, for The Orphan and the Polar Bear, Roseville Festival of Film & Animation (Roseville, CA) 2014 Honourable Mention, Canadian Short Drama, for The Orphan and the Polar Bear, imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival (Toronto, ON) 2014 Best Short Film for Children, for The Orphan and the Polar Bear, Auburn International Film Festival for Children and Young Adults (Auburn, Australia) 2014 Best Animation, for The Orphan and the Polar Bear, Fort McMurray International Film Festival (Fort McMurray, AB) 2014 Best Animation, for The Orphan and the Polar Bear, Montreal First Peoples Festival (Montreal, QC) 2014 Best Animated Short, for The Orphan and the Polar Bear, Mount Dora Family Film Festival (Mount Dora, FL) 2014 Audience Choice Award for Best Animated Film, for The Orphan and the Polar Bear, SENE Film, Music & Arts Festival (Providence, Rhode Island, USA) 2014 Best Animated Film, for The Orphan and the Polar Bear, 10th West Chester Film Festival (West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA) 2012 Best Narrative Short, for Amaqqut Nunaat: The Country of Wolves, CINE Las Americas International Film Festival (Austin, Texas, USA) 2012 Best Animated Film, for Amaqqut Nunaat: The Country of Wolves, SENE Film, Music & Art Festival (Providence, Rhode Island, USA) 2012 Best Animated Film, for Amaqqut Nunaat: The Country of Wolves, First Peoples Festival (Montreal, QC, Canada) 2012 Best Short Film, for Amaqqut Nunaat: The Country of Wolves, Cinestrange Film Festival (Braunschweig, Germany) 2011 Best Canadian Short Drama, for Amaqqut Nunaat: The Country of Wolves, 12th Annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival (Toronto, ON) 2011 The Cynthia-Lickers Sage Award for Emerging Talent, for Amaqqut Nunaat: The Country of Wolves, imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival (Toronto, ON) 2011 Best Animation, for Amaqqut Nunaat: The Country of Wolves, American Indian Motion Picture Awards Show (San Francisco, CA, USA) 2011 Best Canadian Short Drama, for Amaqqut Nunaat: The Country of Wolves, 12th Annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival (Toronto, ON, CA) DESCRIPTION Anaana’s Tent is the northern equivalent to Sesame Street, with a target audience of two- to six-year-olds. Each episode is composed of several vignettes, with recurring characters and themes. Each installment of Anaana’s Tent provides an entertaining and educational preschool experience for Northern children. Anaana’s Tent always begins in a place that is familiar and exciting for many Northern children—at their family tent on the land. Singer Rita-Claire Mike is the host, and with her ensemble of friends, animals, puppet characters, Inuit celebrities, and musical guests, she supports early childhood education in a fun and interactive way. This series also introduces young viewers to many positive Nunavummiut role models and celebrities and educates southern viewers about many of the positive aspects of Northern life and culture. RATIONALE ESTIMATED INVESTMENT/TRANSMEDIA High-quality preschool program PRODUCTION BUDGET DVD/Bluray box set Promotes literacy and numeracy 1.5M Educational apps (Inuktitut language learning) Book series (with Arvaaq Books and Kindergarten readiness PRODUCTION TARGET the Nunavummi Reading Series) Role models and positive 5 seasons Music CDs messaging * season 1 completed, season 2 in production Card/Board